impressions
by Axletia Rosonetis
Summary: When the Sinnoh and Kalos Leagues decide to work together, Cynthia may have developed a crush on a fellow Champion. phaesporiashipping. Rated M for adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

_impressions_

 _(Original notes: It is that time of year again. This setting is post-Flare fuckup. Lysandre has miraculously survived and currently resides in a disclosed location rehabilitating and coping with his illness(es), hoping not to face Major Jail Time. Xerosic's doing his science shit, and the science girls are out of that Major Jail TIme prospect thanks to some good connections by Malva (who may or may not be instigating the works of a Flare rebirth)._

 _Most importantly, though, the Sinnoh League's come to visit, and one Champ may be falling hard for another. heh.)_

 _Originally written February 1st, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. I was really glad that i tried my hardest to write more earlier in the year. This mini-series worked well in my favor, too. I rated it mature audiences just as an nice, smooth balance between T and M. Viewer discretion advised._

* * *

The Sinnoh League was well on its way of being deemed the top collaborating and supportive league of the great nations. Last year they worked wonders on the Kanto League and the sub-dividing Johto League. Before that they worked the Hoenn and Unova Leagues and even peeked in on the Orange League to see how it was faring. There might've been some boring workshops, but there were also fun drunken outings and ultimate ultimate Frisbee and doodling on Lance's face and POKEMON. If the Elite Fours and Champions couldn't cooperate with each other, how could they expect to have the maximum effectiveness with the pokemon?

But the Kalos League had a lot of friction that was really hard to defuse.

Cynthia and the others had been parked in their temporary housing in Lumiose for ten days now, but they hadn't even had a successful workshop yet without screwing it up somehow. Wikstrom, the senior Elite Four member, was a lot less patient with what Cynthia liked to call "League shenanigans". This also extended to his fellow co-worker Drasna, who was nice and awesome but often dozed off or stared off into space. She and Cynthia had a good, twenty-minute conversation about dragons and Sinnoh, but she wasn't very business-oriented. Wikstrom and Drasna left that to their younger colleagues, Siebold and Malva. While Siebold was standoffish and muttered what seemed to be a lot of French and German curses, he was fairly tolerable. And his drinks were better than his gourmet food.

Malva, on the other hand…Cynthia kinda wanted to fight her. And she hated fighting. Every proposal and workshop idea and advertisement had been single-handedly, ruthlessly rejected by her. Something about everything not being good enough. There were those girls that often hung around their hotel rooms, too, the ones with the bright hair and lipstick. They talked a lot of shit for a bunch of girls who ate up all of their mini-fridge food.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. The worst of it how she always had her arm around the Kalos's pretty Champ's back or her hand in her hair or how she always whispered words into the Champ's ear. And it seemed like every time she did this, she'd always look at Cynthia with that smug smirk on her face. It was like she _knew_ she was stealing Cynthia's crush away and was actively enjoying it. And unless Cynthia wanted to delay or harm any progress the Leagues could have, there really was nothing she could do except sit back and take it.

And she really hated sitting back and taking it.

On this tenth day, she decided to get out of the hotel for a bit and roam Lumiose. She heard that Professor Sycamore's lab wasn't far from where they were and wanted to visit him; they hadn't seen each other in person since their wild days with Old Man Rowan in Sinnoh. Whistling a tune she was about to step into the rental Jeep when she spotted the other Champ a few feet from where she'd park. She was cute and small as usual, with her sunhat on her head and her sunglasses fitting that gorgeous face, and she was holding a bag of something. Cynthia softly smacked herself on the face to keep herself from falling flat in front of this angelic being.

Instead she stood as upright as she could, throwing a hand in the hair. "Hey, Diantha! Need a lift?"

Diantha lifted her shades down slightly and flustered, biting her lip. "Shhh! You'll get us mobbed!" she replied. Then, in a lower voice, she agreed, "Sure."

They got into the Jeep, and Cynthia began driving. Well, this was certainly awkward. One of their first direct conversations, and already there was yelling. This wasn't very ideal. Scratching her head she couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry 'bout that," she apologized. "I forget your League's a lot more famous with the publicity and all. Where you headin'?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to snap at you like that-"

"Huh? No, it's fine, it's fine." Cynthia waved her hand. "I'm a little too loud sometimes. I'm headin' over to Professor Sycamore's laboratory. We're supposed to pick up McDonalds and get smashed while watching soccer. Kind of a class reunion, you could say. I can drop you off anywhere, though."

"Ah? You're visiting Augustine, too?"

"Too?"

"Yes. I told him I was going to pop in today, since Siebold is having one of his…how you say, Iron Chef moments."

"You mean that loud screaming in the kitchen I heard just before coming out here?"

"Yes. He and Malva were arguing again, it seems. They often have different plans of cuisine."

 _Malva's not with you guys. You have a chance,_ the thought popped into Cynthia's head, and she gripped onto the steering wheel tighter. "Hey, so speaking of Malva, why didn't you invite her to come along? Since you guys are…well…y'know."

"Y'know what?"

"Da…ting?…"

"Ohoho. Oh, no," Diantha said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Oh, that's a relie-"

"Well, we _used_ to date. All throughout our college years, actually. But then we grew apart. Ah, well, no, we just had very different ideas of relationships. She's not very good with meeting new people, but she and I are still quite close. Is it that noticeable?"

"Ah-well-"

"She and Siebold had something, too, for such a long while. Not a relationship, I don't think. They scream at each other so much, sometimes I think Malva hates him. But they are also best friends. I think she'd say it's very complicated, and she's in another relationship, I think. With some other nice girl, I hope. Do you like her?"

 _don'tblowitdon'tblowitdon'tblowit,_ the thought screamed in her head, and Cynthia blurted out, "You're really cute."

"Pardon? You spoke so softly."

But there Cynthia was, stopping the Jeep and gaining every pissed driver around her, all in her flustered glory. She had a chance! And all she had to do was go to Sycamore's and not fuck up and make the situation more awkward than she could salvage.

But she and Sycamore had planned to get smashed…

oh _no_.


	2. Chapter 2

_napkin run_

When Cynthia and Diantha arrived at the lab, Sycamore was there to greet them the front door, heaving his arms around Cynthia's neck and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Lover! You have finally returned for me after so many years!" he greeted.

Cynthia chuckled and ruffled his hair. It was just as disheveled as the rest of his appearance – labcoat with two of the buttons missing, half-shaved whiskers, one neon-orange Croc and one sandal on his feet. Just as she remembered him. She grinned. "Augustine! I have returned but alas I have fallen in love with another! I am afraid I cannot take you on that romantic gondola ride and elope!"

Sycamore hung his head and put a hand on his forehead, groaning. "A sad ending! How I shall never live again!"

He then threw himself to the floor, spreading his arms out in both directions. The lab assistant, Sophie, walked past him and began going up the stairs. "I'm not covering you if you prank-call the sex hotlines again, Professor," she said.

"I don't need you! I'll never need you!" Sycamore stuck a finger up in the air, then spread out his entire hand. "I'm sorry, Sophie, darling. Don't ever leave me."

"I left food money on the table. _Food_ money."

"Wine was once food."

Sophie shut the door behind her. Sycamore left his hand in the air, then glanced at Diantha, looking surprised. "Diantha, dearest sister, what are you doing here?"

"WAIT YOU TWO ARE SIBLINGS?"

Both of them looked at Cynthia, who immediately flushed. She meant for this to be as little as awkward as possible, but she already screwed that up. Sycamore raised an eyebrow and jerked his thumb in Diantha's direction. "Do you not see our resemblance? Our beauty? Our aesthetic?"

"Your shoes are mismatched."

"Everything is done for a purpose for the sake of pokemon research."

Diantha helped him up to his feet. While Cynthia absentmindedly paged through some old books, she stood on her tiptoes and cupped her hands around Sycamore's ear. "I didn't mean to drop by. I meant to drop these cucumbers somewhere else, but you can have them," she whispered. Then, in as low a voice she could muster, she continued whispering, "Augustine, I need your help. I want to get closer to Cynthia, but I think she likes Malva."

"Malva again, eh? I'll fix this." Placing his hands on his hips, Sycamore turned to Cynthia. "Hey, Cynthia, I bet you didn't know that Malva won't settle for convenience store food! One time I tried to give her this expired burrito in my fridge, and she threw it right at my love Lysandre! Well, it was meant for me, but it got all over him. She called it garbage. Garbage, she says! You'll never win her over, you, the living embodiment of Garbage (trademark)!"

And that was when both women punched him on both sides.

* * *

They all sat at one of the tables in McDonalds, half-smashed, and Cynthia had the greatest view of Diantha as she scarfed down her McRibs. They had spent the entire soccer game with all alcohol and no food, and by the end of the game there was now no alcohol and still no food. Of course that had to be remedied. Who knew that Sophie's food money would be actually used for food?

But throughout the game there was mostly arguments about how good or bad the teams played, leaving little, if any, room for Cynthia to take it one step with Diantha. This was no good. If she didn't make any moves now, Malva was sure to snatch her up and then have two girlfriends, the wench. And that wasn't fair at all.

So while Sycamore went on an extra napkin and bathroom run, this was the perfect opportunity. Claiming his seat as her own, Cynthia sat next to her crush, suppressing the twinkle in her eyes. "So I've known Sycamore for a while, but I didn't know you two were siblings. That's pretty neat."

"Ahhh, yes," Diantha replied, nodding. "We were in the foster care for some time. Me for five, six years, Augustine for about two or three. His birth parents have a rocky relationship with him. Our family had a very loving household, but it still took him so long to smile and be silly like now again. …I think he's talked about you from time to time. You were the one who always did donuts with her Jeep, right?"

"Sounds like me."

Diantha smiled and sipped at her water. "Well, then, I will have to thank you for keeping my silly brother in line and showing him a good time long ago."

"Ahaha, well, I don't know if I kept him in line. That was Ol' Man Rowan's doing…"

"Ah, no, you helped out so much! Oh! But you have a little something on your chin. Let me wipe that for you."

She leaned forward and dabbed at Cynthia's chin, ever so gently, wiping off the rib stains. Cynthia looked down at her sandwich, then at Diantha. Was she that buzzed, or was this actually happening? If her breath didn't taste like cheap wine and McRib, she might've been tempted enough to land a kiss, Diantha was so close…but, no, she had to play it cool. Take it slowly. "Hey, I know this is sudden, but would you like to go out someti-"

"Cynthia, Diantha, the toilets are overflowing! We must flee!"

Sycamore hastily began stuffing napkins into his satchel. Diantha stood up and suddenly glared at him, crossing her arms. "Augustine!" she snapped. "What did you do this time?"

"I just put in as much of my pocket change as possible in them! And…um….maybe some pocket lint wads. You know, they don't make toilets like they used to!"

"That is it, mister, I'm not taking you for gelato tomorrow after all. I will take Cynthia instead."

"What? No fair, Diantha! You know my heart and stomach yearn for such delicacies!"

But Diantha was already out the door, leaving a confused Cynthia and upset Sycamore in her wake. Cynthia just stared down at her meal. The management was sure to surround them any second, and if they loitered around any longer they might end up face-to-face with the fuzz. How embarrassing it would be for two pokemon professionals to be caught in such a situation. But she couldn't get herself to move. Was she called out on a date? Did she succeed?

Lucy _was_ wrong. McDonald's was a good place to score.

* * *

 _(Original notes: Sycamore's still pissed about that burrito, btw.)_

 _Originally written February 2nd, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. Probs a lot shorter than I'd've liked, looking back. It happens._


	3. Chapter 3

_gelato_

 _(Original notes: This took a weird turn and well. Don't read if you're sensitive to bathroom functions and all that.;; It's not terribly graphic, but yeah…)_

 _Originally written February 3rd, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. Ye, this was weird. A lot of the time I look back and am like, "what the fuck was i thinking?", and this is a lot more common than y'think. but...it works? 8D;;_

* * *

They sat outside of one of Lumiose's back-alley cafes. Cynthia poked at her cappuccino gelato with her spoon. It was more different from ice cream than she expected – richer, denser, and, unfortunately milkier. It was absolutely delicious, but her lactose-intolerant insides were churning and ready to spew out flatulence any second now. She hadn't had a good farting spell since that time when she was back in high school and she challenged her underclassmen Volkner and Flint to a milk-drinking contest. She was obviously the winner, and it was worth it even after she nearly crapped her pants and was suspended for three days for taking everyone's milk.

This was a very different situation, though. Diantha was with her, and she was treating her to _free gelato_. If she farted now, it would be the end of any possible attempts of them ever hooking up, and she couldn't have that. At least Augustine wasn't there to egg her on in any obscene endeavors. He was still grounded from yesterday for overflowing all of the McDonald's toilets. Not that she didn't want Augustine around or anything – on the contrary, she enjoyed the concept of 'the more, the merrier' – but one wrong gesture and the air would smell like her allergies.

On the other hand, without Augustine she felt more nervous than usual. She was used to having at least _one_ of her wingmen around, but there were none in sight. So far they'd just been silent, quietly snacking on the gelato, the only sounds being the nearby traffic. It was driving Cynthia bananas. She couldn't bear the quiet for too long, and finally she had to crack with a conversation, a thought, _anything_ to get them to fill that silence. "How are you enjoying your rum raisin?" she asked.

"It's delicious. I'm actually quite fond of both ice cream and gelato. Frozen yogurt, too. I probably have the numbers of all of these places in my phone."

"Impressive. Who knew the Kalosian champ had such a sweet tooth? Although to be honest with you, I like my rum with less raisins. Ahaha…"

They shared an awkward laugh, and Cynthia focused on her spoon. Her comments weren't awkward, were they? _She_ wasn't being awkward, was she? Across from her Diantha took a sip of her tea, her expression unreadable behind her shades. If Cynthia was being awkward, she paid no mind to it. "I do apologize for inviting you so suddenly yesterday," she said, frowning. "I-I did intend to invite Augustine, but then you said you wanted to go out and I thought it would be a good opportunity…for us Champions to become closer and…"

"And?"

"Oh! Ah, never mind. Just a silly afterthought."

Cynthia noticed the pink slowly creeping up across Diantha's face. Her own heart began feeling that warm and fuzzy feeling she got whenever something made her happy (or super-drunk). Maybe it wouldn't hurt her to be a little more forward with this. Just a little push in the right direction. "Yeah! The whole point of our leagues talking to each other is to grow closer! Uh, in bonds that is…"

"Right…"

"You know, we can always go out to eat things like this anytime. Just us or with anyone, either way."

Diantha smiled. "Yes, that would be quite nice."

Her smile should've made Cynthia's heart feel even fuzzier, but instead the blond was overtaken by a hideous stomach flopping. No, this wasn't the sign of flatulence about to burst. This was…oh Arceus, the horror…

….incoming diarrhea.

She immediately stood op, knocking her chair to the ground. Diantha hopped up in surprise, but she waved it off as she ran towards the café, calling out behind her, "Don't worry! I've just got some business to take care of!"

The next twenty minutes were agonizingly spent over the toilet. Cynthia kept her hands pressed against either side of her stall, groaning, because just when she thought it was A-OK to wipe, another flood of disaster came out of her. It was like her bowels was having a disastrous six-on-six pokemon battle, and she, the glorious brain, was not invited. By now the entire bathroom probably smelled like shit, too.

Well, this was definitely more embarrassing than the milk-drinking contest. All she wanted was to have a good time with her fellow pretty Champ, and her body just had to fuck up on her. And here she thought the anxiety would betray her first before her own damn stomach. Well, this was fucking great. Fucking dandy. Wasn't she just the fuckingest best fucko Champ in the region-

"Cynthia, sweetheart, are you still in there?"

Diantha. _Oh, no._ Had she been waiting for her all this time? Cynthia shut her eyes and nodded. "Yes," she said weakly.

"Bless you, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Nah. Um. I'm really sorry for only telling you this now, but I'm kinda…allergic…to dairy…"

" _What?_ "

"but-it-tastes-so-good-and-normally-my-reactions-aren't-this-bad-so-i-eat-it-anyway-but-that- _fucking_ -gelato-"

"No, no, no! I am so sorry! I shouldn't have invited you- no, that came out wrong! I should've known your allergies! Oh, but I am not a doctor!"

"But _Sycamore_ is a doctor! In writing!"

Still sitting on the toilet, Cynthia suddenly kicked the door, and she and Diantha stared face-to-face, the latter's expression a mess of relief, sorrow, and rage. Her hands were balled into tiny fists, and if Cynthia wasn't seeing things, there were actual tears streaming down her face. "Augustine! Why didn't he tell me about your allergies if he knew them? I am going to prank him so. hard."

"Well, I don't know if he actually remembers or- wait, what?"

Diantha gawked at her. "Ah, do you in Sinnoh not prank when they do things like this?"

Returning her look with a blank one, Cynthia shook her head. "We have jackets for the very occasion."

"Oh, but could you help me?"

"In every way imaginable."

That fuzzy feeling was coming back…no, that was her underwear falling all the way to the floor. Before she could pick them up, Diantha leaned into the stall, grunted, and let out a laugh. It was sweet yet playful, a mix that she would've never expected from the innocent Kalos champ. "Ahaha, your Gible undies. They're adorable," she said, smiling. "I wonder if they've attracted other ladies as well?"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

But once again Diantha quickly disappeared, gently shutting the door behind her. It took all of Cynthia's strength not to fall into the toilet or run right after her, in the bare ass. While the immediate explosive diarrhea was at an all-clear, she was still on toilet duty for a little while longer. Pranking? Underwear-loving? _Attracting?_

She really didn't know Diantha at all, but she felt that right there, on that toilet, a thought of them becoming soulmates.


	4. Chapter 4

_pomegranates_

On Diantha's side of the bedroom where she and Drasna were staying within the hotel suite, she sat on a stool, struggling not to fidget as Malva adjusted and readjusted bobby pins and worked on her pranking attire. Earlier that evening she tried to argue with her with the logic that pranking Augustine did not need any special fancies, but upon hearing that she had been even more insistent. While Malva's chilly demeanor was usually just a front for her anxiety around people, Diantha was pretty sure she hated her brother. With a fiery passion that almost rivaled her Pyroar's Flame Bursts.

And so she sat, rationalizing this pranking. Augustine neglected to tell her – or forgot – that Cynthia was lactose-intolerant – and that made him partially responsible for her inviting the Sinnoh Champion for gelato and subsequently causing distress in the bathroom. It had nothing to do with it being an excuse for her to hang out with Cynthia more. No, that would be deception, and deception was bad for her complexion.

Oh, no. She sounded like Malva…only Malva would say deception was _good_ for her complexion.

She couldn't help but snort at that. Malva tugged at her hair. "Are you shit-talking me in your thoughts again, dearest?" she asked amusedly.

"Not really. Just how deception suits your complexion."

"It does. I really wish _I_ had an excuse to prank Sycamore instead of your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend yet!"

"Ha. You say 'yet'."

Diantha smacked a hand to her face, failing at stopping herself from blushing. Malva tugged at her hair again, tsking. "I told you not to move. Your hairdresser at the studio is much too lax with you. I ought to prank him and lavish him with my amusement that way."

"You gonna scare another one away with those terrible ideas of yours?"

Behind them Siebold had walked in, nonchalantly gesturing to the door. "Diantha, you shouldn't let Malva take care of you before a prank-out. Just throw her out. Ever since she wore that terrible grunge band t-shirt, I cannot trust their judgment."

"T-shirts have nothing to do with hair, jackass!" Malva snapped. "And you _went_ with me to that concert!"

"We were both overwhelmed with the taste of alcohol. I had terrible judgment then."

"That's not what you were saying when we were making out, fucker!"

"No. I said, 'your tongue feels like a fucking Seviper', and you kicked my ankles for the third or fourth time, and then you insisted we buy 30 of those _furchtbar_ White Castles."

"You forgot your loud moaning, shitstain."

"Ah, yes, how could I forget? Ooohhhh, Malva, your tongue feels like a fucking Seviper. Please give me hickeys so Wikstrom can glare at me all day, jaaaa."

This dampened any fuzzy feelings in Diantha, and she had to sigh. This was normal; they were constantly at each other's throats, but they were best friends with benefits whenever Malva wanted to do lewd things with someone other than…was it Celosia? Or the green-haired one? No, it was probably Celosia. She was the one who bought those potato chip family packs. But unless she got out of this somehow, she'd be stuck in the middle of their bickering. Again. And she didn't want to be in the middle of them in the event their sexual frustration exploded.

She tapped on the table in front of her. "Malva, this really isn't necessary. Really. We're not gonna do anything extreme."

Siebold clicked his tongue. "You're not? Has Malva taught you nothing?"

"I taught her that deception's good for your complexion, assbag!" Malva leaned over her, squinting as she looked up and down at her. They stared at each other for a few seconds before she shook her head, lightly pushing on DIantha's shoulder. "But you are right. You're already gorgeous enough to ruin Sycamore's life- I mean prank him. Will you be back late? Should I pack you up some condoms in your purse?"

"Aaaahhhh, Malva…"

"You're right, you're right. I need all of mine for my own monster dong. You just have fun, kiddo."

Diantha puffed her cheeks. "If Celosia or whoever comes over, don't let them put crumbs all over the carpet again. Drasna doesn't like stepping on them with her feet."

"Will do. Now go. There can't be two gorgeous beings in the same room for too long. Oh. And one more thing." At this Malva narrowed her eyes. "If any shit goes down, just run and blame your fellow Champ. I'll take care of everything."

* * *

They stood outside of Augustine's lab, and seeing Cynthia all serious-faced with her all-black attire and her black streaks on her face made Diantha feel like just maybe this was a terrible idea. Or, oh, no, she probably _should've_ let Malva dress her up. But there was no going back now. Cynthia, always taking charge in everything, probably had the ultimate prank in mind. While it was true that she dabbled in pranking whenever it was necessary, it usually was the kind of pranking that was barely noticeable. Like moving Augustine's pencils just a few centimeters to the right. Or filling all of Augustine's milk in the fridge with a few packets of sugar, like she originally planned tonight.

But she had to be a good hostess. All she had to do was follow Cynthia's lead, and they would be fine.

They continued standing out there for what seemed like hours until Cynthia dropped her backpack to the ground and knelt beside it, taking out…were those pomegranates? Despite the darkness she gave Cynthia a quizzical look. "Cynthia, what are we doing with pomegranates?" she asked. "Are they snacks? I don't think you can't do much with them besides making juice."

"Oh. No. I kinda thought we were going to throw them at Augustine's lab."

"But that's vandalism!"

"No, it's pranking. It's only vandalism if we get caught. Boop." Cynthia swung her arm and chucked a pomegranate at the roof. It made an odd splashing sound. Then, handing a pomegranate to Diantha, she grinned. "Thanks for coming out here with me. You really didn't have to go through with this."

"No! No, I'm a pranker. Forgive me, little pomegranate."

Emulating Cynthia's pitch she bent her arm and threw the pomegranate at the window, and-

CRASH!

"Ah…oh. Oh, shit."

Glass trickled down from the window. Then the lights began turning on from the lab's insides. Diantha and Cynthia only had time to exchange a look of what was probably horror before a silhouette swung open the front door. A giant, hairy man, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt and very tight shorts. And from the looks of it, he was holding something very pointy. Whatever it was Diantha didn't want to encounter it face-to-face, and neither did Cynthia as she grabbed her wrist and yanked it. "RUN!"

She didn't need to be told twice.

In any other situation, Diantha would've been elated. Her beautiful crush was holding her wrist, and they could've been enjoying wine at a beach or watching some terrible movie at the cinema. But this was just like one of those horror movies that Drasna liked watching. She was panting hard, and Cynthia was screaming so loudly they might've ended up bumping into the police anyway, and they were both being chased by a hairy giant with a pointy and probably sharp object. Perhaps it was her time…but they didn't even get a chance to decorate all of Augustine's laboratory with pomegranates. It was a silly, silly thought, but it would've been quite lovely.

They headed for the park. She wasn't sure if she could run much longer. Pressing against Cynthia's fingers, she bit her lip. "Cynthia, I don't think I'll make it! You should go on without me!"

"No way! We haven't eaten McDonalds in our underwear yet!"

" _What?!_ "

"Sorry! Dammit, I say really fucked-up things when I'm stressed! Sorry, sorry!"

"No, no, it's okay! I would've loved to see you in your underwear again!"

"I kinda bought you some matching Gardevoir shorts! I don't think I'd ever have the chance to give them to you!"

"I think Malva hates you but I don't think you like-like her that way anymore!"

"The feeling's mutual and you're right, I kinda like-like you instead!"

" _Oof!_ "

She fell hard on the sidewalk. An immediate pain shot up through one of her ankles, and she groaned. How tragic it would be, for the famous actress and champ and her crushing crush and Sinnoh champ to die like this. Cynthia stood in front of her, extending her arms on both sides. The nearby lampposts gave her enough light to see probably her last images, - long, blond hair messily put up in a ponytail and a rear end which was fabulously covered with those black jeans. Alas. "Don't worry, Diantha. You play dead and I'll take the fall," she murmured under her breath. Then, "I bet that sword's not sharp enough to go all the way through me!"

As Malva often put it, they were probably both fucked.

But the figure in front of them was still, wavering as he kept the sword in the end. Diantha let out a gasp, eyes widening. He was about seven feet, thinner and more disheveled and more unpleasant-looking with a big, fat unicorn across the pink shirt he wore. It wasn't- no, the rumors said he was dead or in prison or somewhere else locked up forever.

But he came out of Augustine's residence, so either he was a ghost or…

"Mr. Lysandre?"

* * *

 _(Original notes: Malva's hatred for Sycamore is 99.5% because of his association with Lysandre and .5% because he always plays shitty out-of-tune ukelele tunes whenever she's around. Diantha hopes one day they'll get along. (they won't.) In the meantime if she and Cynthia ever got closer, she could transfer her hopes to the Sinnoh champ._

 _It's a little past 3AM and pomegranates are really fucking messy. i wrote a lot.)_

 _Originally written February 4th, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. This is a lot gayer than I remembered, bless._


	5. Chapter 5

_epilogue 01_

Cynthia couldn't stop from fidgeting. It was past midnight now, and there she was wide-awake on Sycamore's couch, sitting next to Diantha while a half-awake Sycamore dealt with the irritated Officer Jenny. She was not impressed with his broken window and even less impressed by the fact that two Champions had been chased down by his weirdo boyfriend, Jacques (a name all three of them had blurted out at the same time). She was so unimpressed, in fact, that she threatened to take them all down for questioning.

"No need, no need!" Sycamore argued, placing his hands on his hips and looking ridiculous with his nightcap still on his head. "Our sleepover just got carried away, that's all. We didn't mean to break my window and Jacques didn't mean to be a public menace. C'est la vie, Officer."

Officer Jenny rolled her eyes. "You say that every time, Professor, and I keep telling you not to do it again. So," She jabbed at his chest with her finger, " _don't do it again._ "

She walked off, shutting the door behind her. Everyone let out a loud sigh at once. From the kitchen area, Lysandre came out, holding a cup of coffee. Cynthia had heard about him from one of those international news shows Bertie and Lucy often watched. Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare, who wanted to end all of humanity or something. The official news reports had declared him dead upon an exploding impact. At the time she thought he and Cyrus had a lot in common.

But this guy looked a hundred more times menacing. Even if he hadn't been holding a sword, she still probably would've ran away screaming…only maybe she could've prevented Diantha from twisting her ankle. It was her idea to prank Sycamore's house with pomegranates, so it was her fault this entire incident happened. At least Sycamore was sympathetic to their cause. Flint and Volkner probably would've landed them all in the police station.

Lysandre, however, looked very unsympathetic. In his other hand was an ice pack, which he handed over to Diantha with a strained smile. "You really should learn how to take care of yourself better," he said. "We still need your beautiful face in this world"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

Cynthia squinted down at the floor. At this point she wasn't sure if she should dislike this guy yet. While he had carried Diantha throughout the entire way home, he also had bombarded Cynthia with remarks of how careless she was. Which she was, because they almost got killed by him. But he kinda seemed like a smug asshole. No wonder he was the boss of an evil team. Sycamore was forever oblivious to everything, though, as he lightly shoved the giant from behind. "You always rub things in, Lizzie. It's your fault, though."

"I was trying to protect your lab."

"Yes, yes, and you're supposed to be in hiding. Thank Xerneas Jenny didn't recognize you with that lovely outfit." He looked up and down at Lysandre – the oversized pink shirt with the unicorn and the too-tight shorts – and nodded. No one else besides him could think of such a combination. "I saved you all."

"And you'll never shut up about it," Lysandre growled.

"Yes, yes, I am all of your saviors! Anyway, Cynthia, Diantha," Sycamore frowned for a second before chuckling, "you two bested me. I apologize if my knight in shining armor troubled you from succeeding, though. He's…how you say…he's legally dead right now, so I have to try and help him. He got into a lot of deep doodoo. It's good that you two bumped into him and not anyone else. I couldn't bear to lose him again!"

"You're even worse when you're tired. Go back to bed, Augustine."

"Worse with what? My beautiful speech? My fashion tips? My lovely locks of raven hair that can rival Malva's dye job?"

"Everything. Worse with everything."

Sycamore pouted, turning away from him with outstretched hands. "Ladies, help me out here! He'll drag me off to bed and then we can't have any deep sleepover conversations together! Lizzie, give me some of your coffee!"

"Absolutely not. You'll probably see them in the morning, I'm sure." Grabbing Sycamore by the collar, he narrowed his eyes at Cynthia and Diantha. "Ladies, I'll make sure that if you're here in the morning, you'll get a _nutritious_ breakfast. All Augustine eats for breakfast is sin and doughnuts. If you need anything else, more blankets should be in one of these closets. If you'll excuse us."

Lysandre dragged Sycamore up the stairs. When they were out of sight, Cynthia and Diantha shared a look, then quickly looked away. Cynthia went back to making the floor her moral enemy. This was really awkward. This was really, _really_ awkward. Why did she have to blurt out that she like-liked the Kalos Champion? Since it was in the heat of the moment, she could've always covered it up, but that would be denying her feelings. She _did_ like-like Diantha; she just wanted to admit it in any other way.

Good Arceus, how were they supposed to work together after this?

Next to her DIantha looked equally as uncomfortable or probably more so due to her swelling, twisted ankle. The bruise around the injured area was purple and splotchy and gross-looking. Everything was awkward and sad, and Cynthia hated for things to continue being this way for much longer. If things had to be awkward, she'd make them so awkward that all awkwardness was transcend into a happy ending. Taking Diantha's ankle into her lap, she pressed the ice pack against it. "I'm really sorry things happened this way," she said. "I really fucked things up."

Diantha smiled sadly. "We both did. You were very brave to protect me back there, Cynthia. Thank you."

"Well, we can always succeed the next time, ahaha…"

 _Did I really just say that?_

"Ahaha, oh, yes! Yes, yes, ahaha…"

Diantha hunched over in soft giggles. Cynthia joined her, leaning her head against the soft couch as she laughed in her quietest loud voice. There was no need to take back anything; there was no need to regret anything. Somehow she knew that Diantha was being sincere in her words…about everything. They shared the fault on this one and would keep sharing the faults until they succeeded. Whether this related to pranking Sycamore or doing their actual job or…or anything else…would be up to fate. And fate was always a lovely gamble.

Soon they were both half-asleep watching the television, Cynthia leaning on Diantha's shoulder and Diantha's ankle still resting in Cynthia's lap. It was almost three in the morning, and the only things on the channels were those terrible infomercials by overenthusiastic people. Cynthia felt her eyelids constantly flutter. All of that excitement from earlier had made her exhausted. She couldn't even think about making any moves on the babe next to her. All she could focus on was more pranking ideas. "Diantha, we should invest in one of those mechanical back-scratchers. The MechaniBach. For the League," she mumbled, yawning. "It'll make for some great conversation-starters."

"Hmmm? Yes…oh, I'm so sleepy."

"We'll get Sycamore to buy it for us…hryaaaaa…."

"Hryaaaa?"

"errrr…."

"Mm. Let's do this again sometime…hmmm…"

With MechaniBach and angry giants in their minds, the champs fell asleep with smiles on their faces. Unbeknownst to the other, they had dreams of the two of them replaying the night's scene over and over again, although in a much more romanticized way. Less screaming and more honor and of course more pomegranates thrown. Somehow things would work out for the better, for their Leagues, for their friendships, and for whatever lay beyond that

Pranking Augustine was a good idea after all.

End

* * *

 _(Original notes: nothing relevant)_

 _Originally written February 5th, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. Not the best ending, I still think this. but I suppose kinda cute._


End file.
